Med-TV - Kurdish Satellite Television

"When I went to Dyarbakir and Mardin in December 1995 for the
Turkish general election, I enquired particularly whether that TV
station [Med-TV] was being received and what was the public
response. I was told that the viewers were positively rapturous.
Old people had wept for joy after such a long period of cultural
starvation. For all, it was a new window on the world and, what
is more, in their own language." -- Lord Hylton, House of Lords
debate on Human Rights in Turkey, 18 July 1997

"When I was in Turkey there were people telling me that Med-TV is
being watched very much in Turkey" -- Pauline Green MEP

"I think Med-TV is a simply wonderful idea" -- John Pilger

"[persons belonging to national minorities] be able to use their
language both in private and in public and should be able to use
it, under certain conditions, in their relations with the public
authorities." -- Vienna Declaration, Council of Europe, 9 October
1993

Med-TV is a Kurdish language
satellite TV station. It broadcasts
to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from Eutelsat via an
uplink in London. It holds a licence to broadcast from the ITC.
Programmes are a varied mix from children's programmes, music,
drama through to political discussions, documentaries and news
broadcasts. Its primary audience is in the Middle East where it
is seen as a refreshing source of information outside of state
censorship. It also has a large audience amongst the Kurdish
population scattered throughout Europe. There are plans to
distribute the station via cable networks.

Apart from broadcasting in the main Kurdish dialects (Sorani,
Kurmanci and Zazaki) Med-TV also broadcasts in Turkish, Arabic
and Assyrian. As a reflection of the disparate nature of
minorities within the Middle East Med-TV broadcasts religious
programmes aimed at Christian, Alevi, Sunni and Yezidi
communities. Med-TV has caused a Renaissance in the the
production of Kurdish films, hitherto a cultural wilderness.

In Turkish occupied Kurdistan, Kurdish families and villagers
have clubbed together to buy satellite dishes and receiving
equipment for the reception of Med-TV. Following the illegal
invasion of northern Iraq in May 1997 by Turkey, an area
supposedly protected by the Western Allies under Operation
Comfort, Turks as well as Kurds have turned to Med-TV as an
independent source of information.

Such is the demand for Med-TV that those with
the capability tape the programmes and distribute the
videocassettes to their friends.

Turkey is a
repressive regime with atrocities against its own people well
documented. Not only against the Kurds, but also human rights
campaigners and monitors, lawyers, trade unionists and
journalists. For the Kurds singing and dancing in their own
language can be seen as a terrorist offence, let alone calling
for a degree of autonomy.

Med-TV has caused a serious problem for Turkey. They can not
simply burst into an office, beat up a few journalist and smash
the equipment as the offices, studios and broadcast equipment are
located in Europe outside of Turkey. This is not to say Turkey
has not tried.

Turkey has attempted to apply pressure on the relevant European
governments, especially London where the licence to transmit is
held, to close down Med-TV. Illegal pressure
has been applied - a Med-TV director in Germany
was attacked and badly beaten by a group of thugs speaking
Turkish, staff in the UK have been followed and harassed by
people of Turkish appearance. Attempts to block the
transmissions have involved direct sabotage attacks on Eutelsat.

A smear campaign has been mounted in an attempt to discredit
Med-TV and cause them to lose faith with their
financial backers. This was picked up by the London paper
The Independent (28 November 1995) who falsely
accused Med-TV of being backed by PKK
(the Kurdish Workers Party). Some weeks later (21 December 1995)
The Independent were forced to publish an apology and a
retraction.

The Independent which trades on its reputation of being
'independent' has a tarnished reputation in this area.
Lobby for Cyprus
slammed its sister paper The Independent on Sunday for
promoting holidays in Turkish occupied northern Cyprus. It could
be no coincidence that the article (20 July 1997) was timed to
coincide with the 23rd anniversary of the Turkish occupation.
When challenged by Lobby for Cyprus, the lame response of the
editor of their travel section (Mr Atiyah) was that he had been
well paid for the article. The Sunday edition of the paper is
still carrying advertisements in its travel section for holidays
in occupied Cyprus, this in spite of a EU embargo on trade with
the self-declared TRNC.

Within Turkish occupied Kurdistan the situation is far worse.
Satellite dishes and receiving equipment have been destroyed.
Kurds caught watching Med-TV have been tortured,
detained, death threats have been issued.

The behaviour of the British Foreign Office has been a national
disgrace. At the behest of the Turkish Authorities they have,
albeit unsuccessfully, tried to force ITC to revoke Med-TV's
broadcast licence. They have though managed to cut off a free
news feed to Med-TV. Poland, Belgium, France
and Germany have all kowtowed to pressure from Turkey.

Despite these attempts to silence Med-TV it has continued to
broadcast, and gone from strength to strength. Many viewers tune
in as a direct response to Turkey's attempt to silence the
station. As a result of Turkey's crude attempts to silence
Med-TV it has found a number of influential allies and
supporters, not least of which include - Bruce Kent, Lord
Avebury, Lord Hylton, Pauline Green MEP, Harold Pinter, Tony Benn MP,
Michael Feeney, Jon Snow.

In any consideration of Med-TV's licence ITC
should take due note of press and media censorship within Turkey.
It should also take note of various international agreements and
conventions on democracy and press freedom to which Turkey is a signatory.

All over Europe there are TV and radio programs in minority
languages. To broadcast such programmes in Turkey, in Kurdish,
is a terrorist offence.